Dry eye syndrome (DES), a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface, is one of the most common ocular disorders. Tear film contains ocular mucins and is essential for maintaining the homeostasis of the wet ocular surface. Since there are a limited number of clinical options for the treatment of DES, additional novel treatments are needed to improve the clinical results. In this study, we found that placental extract-derived dipeptide (JBP485) clearly promoted the expression and secretion of gel-forming mucin 5ac (Muc5ac) in rabbit conjunctival epithelium. JBP485 also elevated the expression level of cell surface-associated mucins (Muc1/4/16) in rabbit corneal epithelium. The Schirmer tear test results indicated that JBP485 induced tear secretion in the rabbit model. Moreover, JBP485 clinically improved corneal epithelial damage in a mouse dry eye model. Thus, our data indicate that JBP485 efficiently promoted mucin and aqueous tear secretion in rabbit ocular surface epithelium and has the potential to be used as a novel treatment for DES.

Proper wound healing is vital for maintenance of corneal integrity and transparency. Corneal epithelial damage is one of the most frequently observed ocular disorders. Because clinical options are limited, further novel treatments are needed to improve clinical outcomes for this type of disease. In the present study, it was found that placental extract-derived dipeptide (JBP485) significantly increased the proliferation and migration of corneal epithelial cells (CECs). Moreover, JBP485 accelerated corneal epithelial wound healing in vivo without inflammation and neovascularization and was found to be effective for the treatment of corneal damage. These data indicate that JBP485 efficiently activates the viability of CECs and has potential as a novel treatment for various kinds of corneal epithelial disease.

The feasibility of using an autologous tissue‐engineered cultivated nasal mucosal epithelial cell sheet (CNMES) for ocular surface reconstruction was investigated using a novel technique for the culture of nasal mucosal epithelial cells expanded ex vivo from biopsy‐derived human nasal mucosal tissues. The CNMESs were transplanted onto the ocular surfaces of rabbits and the survival of this tissue, including the goblet cells, was confirmed up to 2 weeks.